


I'm Ready for the Fight and Fate

by FiliTheLionKing (IAmYourWatson)



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Archery, Archery isn't all elvish, Baby Dwarves, But this story isn't about them, Durin Family, Durin Feels, Dwarf Culture & Customs, Dís and Frerin didn't get along when they were babies, Gen, Surprises about dwarf culture, Uncle Thorin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2014-05-03
Packaged: 2018-01-21 18:10:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1559423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmYourWatson/pseuds/FiliTheLionKing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Most of the races of Middle Earth think that dwarves hate archery and archers. Surely they must think it's too elvish, too other, something to be ridiculed and mocked. And of course, if they hate archery, surely the must hate their archers, even though it's a necessary skill, right? Dwarves are so close-minded! </p><p>But what most of the races of Middle Earth don't know is that dwarves are not only respectful of their archers, they're revered as heroes. </p><p>A look into what it might be like for dwarves like Kili if dwarven society treasured their archers, rather than tolerated them, as many stories would have us believe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Ready for the Fight and Fate

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my lords and ladies! Sorry it's been so long, I was hella sick and had writer's block to boot! So here's a small thing, I hope you like it! I might expand upon it if people like it. So please, leave me a comment or a critique below!

Since the dawn of time, there have been those gifted beyond the measure of their peers. There are some Men who live far longer than any other Man has ever been able to. There are those Elves that have powers greater than those of their kin. There are Hobbits born with wanderlust too great to be contained by the bounds of The Shire. And there are Dwarves gifted by Mahal with something most of their race never develop: the Far Sight. 

Dwarves are well known for their brilliant stone sense and craftsmanship, their ability to mine the earth and rock, to all but speak with it, to make and bend steel and iron into anything the wish it to be. Great things have been accomplished by this often overlooked race, and objects of both beauty and great power have been crafted by their skilled hands. But most dwarves, at the very least in their youth, crave something few dwarves are given. The Far Sight is a gift bestowed on, by dwarven reckoning, one in every thousand dwarves. It is, as it says, the ability to see far, in both darkness and light. All dwarves can see perfectly in the dark, and have an average visual range. None, except these select few, possess the ability often taken for granted by the Elves. The Far Sight, perfect vision, the ability to see, aim for, and then hit a bird in flight half a mile away is something the dwarves covet and praise. 

Some may think that the dwarves do not prize their archers, that the few who take on this difficult art of war, this skill, are too elvish for their own good. Some think that dwarven archers are ridiculed, ostracized, even beaten for showing proficiency in an art often associated with their greatest rivals. This is not so. Dwarves are many things, but stupid they are not. And any skill that is as rare as archery will be treated like a precious gem, like a deposit of mithril found in the most unlikely of places. So instead of humiliating their archers, dwarves venerate them. Most races would find this to be incredibly paradoxical, but most races who think they know dwarves don’t know them at all. 

At a young age, dwarves are tested to see what kind of skills they will develop, what kind of craft and fighting style they are best suited for. Most dwarves are metalworkers or stonemasons, if they are not already miners. Others are woodworkers, a less common trade, but one still necessary and abundant enough that it holds no special consideration. Jewelers and silverworkers, as well as other finer, delicate crafts are less common, and workers in those arts are often paid high prices for their rare skills. Those who can work with mithril, however, are the most prized craftsman of all. It takes years to become a truly spectacular mithril worker, and even longer to be given a good reputation. The same thing tends to apply to battle. Almost all dwarves have a penchant for axes or hammers. Fewer still are proficient in blades of any kind, but again, they are numerous enough to not warrant any special attention. Slings, darts, throwing knives, and throwing axes are rarer still, and those who become proficient in them are envied by all. But as with those who are skilled in mithril, archers are the rarest of all. 

To become an archer is to become something of a hero in dwarvish society. Archers are often spotted at a young age, as those dwarves with the Far Sight tend to stand out from their peers in games of darts or hide-and-seek. Their superior eyesight, in both light and dark, make them the best at these games. It is considered a great honor to have an Archer as a child, on the level of having a daughter in the often daughterless race. While they are not given too much special consideration, even in childhood, Archers are trained by a select few, and tend to form bonds with other Archers. It’s not so much a secret society as a guild, a guild with very few members compared to the rest of the population. To wear a bow on your back is like coming home with a huge bear pelt adorning your shoulders, telling of the brave and glorious deed you’ve done. Archers often find themselves the subject of many marriage proposals, to the point where it has become something of an in-joke to them. 

"Are you going out with your bow tonight?"

"No, I might as well wear a sign saying ‘Marry me!’" 

Beyond the bow, perhaps one of the most recognizable signs of an Archer was their lack of beard. Even the most ignorant of peoples know that dwarves, especially male dwarves, pride themselves on their often long and intricate beards and mustaches. If a dwarf, especially a male dwarf, is seen without facial hair, they are probably either a baby, a youngling, a young female, or an Archer. To have no beard, just stubble at best, is a sign of an Archer’s devotion to their craft, to their skill, a symbol of their sacrifice for the safety and protection of their people. It’s a badge of honor, and members of a fallen Archer’s family will often shave half of their facial hair in remembrance, compared to a mourning family’s normal tradition of just shortening their beards. Often, an Archer will cover their bare chins and cheeks with tattoos, usually symbols of their family, their accomplishments, or from a long-used set of tattoos only Archers can wear. To ben an Archer was no easy task, and even though many families wished for an Archer as a child, all knew it was a difficult blessing. 

An Archer had not been born into the line of Durin since Frerin the Golden, second son of Thrain. With his own golden hair, a few speculated that Fili would inherit his uncle’s trait, but since the hair color was inherited from his father’s side, most knew it might not happen. So when Kili was born with keen eyes and an uncanny ability to beat even Balin at darts, everyone knew he would become an Archer. Fili toted his little brother around like a prized bird, showing him off to everyone, even before his brother began his training. After all, he was going to be the Crown Prince, why did he need to be jealous of his baby brother? Dis and Thorin would just smile and laugh when the dwarflings smiled up at them and said this, finding their resolve absolutely adorable and not a little bit reassuring (rivalries among siblings were notorious in the Durin line; all one had to do was look at Dis and Frerin growing up to see that). 

As they grew up, they were nigh on inseparable; Fili would watch from the sidelines as his brother hit target after target, and Kili would be Fili’s loudest supporter at the elder’s sparring matches with his dual swords. The brothers would only ever look at each other with expressions of fondness, pride, and love. Not once did any jealousy ever pass between them, as mothers always feared when one child was so blessed and the other wasn’t. The Durin brothers were as one unit, a perfect team, Fili protecting his brother as Kili picked off distant targets. Thorin knew that when the time came, Fili would take the throne as king, and Kili would stand at his right hand, his Far Seeing brother, his best friend and advisor. 

So when Bilbo Baggins sat on his bed and reflected about the evening he’d just had (and how awful dwarves were, really, and why was he even thinking about going on this adventure, he was a Baggins of Bag End, he’s not going, no he’s not!), he would briefly muse on the dwarves’ often elaborate hairstyles and beards. He marveled at Nori’s star-shaped coif, wondered how Fili did his mustache braids, and thought about whether Gloin’s hair was either soft or wiry (why did he just think that?). But at the very end, he wondered why Kili had no beard at all. Even Thorin had a beard, short as it was, and surely they wouldn’t let a mere child on this adventure, would they? Perhaps the poor boy was ridiculed back home for his lack of beard, maybe that’s why he came, the hobbit thought as he curled up to sleep. The hobbit would not find out until many nights later, quite some time after he ran after the company, what the lack of beard  _really_  meant. 

First, he’d be amazed. Then, he’d be flabbergasted. And finally, he’d just smile and go back to smoking his pipe. After all, nothing about this adventure was what he expected. Why not this?

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the song "Iron" by Woodkid.


End file.
